Damon's Soul and Heart
by NeoMulder
Summary: This is a story where Damon finds someone who isn't Elena or Katherine. And it's based off of the show and follows the same timeline and scripts. Though I'm adding a few different things. And I will do my best to capture the characters personalities in the scenes where I don't have a script to go off of. If there's anything you guys want to see in this story just post in review.
1. Chapter 1

I sighed as I woke up to this new room I was still not used to and debated on whether or not I actually wanted to get out of bed today. My parents wouldn't notice anyways since they weren't here. They were both at work. They worked in a big city in Georgia. They were both doctors and they worked the whole week except for Sunday, so I wouldn't be seeing much of them anymore.  
My family and I had moved to a small town in Virgina called Mystic Falls about a week ago. They said it would be better for me here, but I didn't believe them. A change of setting wasn't going to make the past go away. No matter what I did. They would still think I was crazy because of the dreams and images.  
I closed my eyes for a moment before rolling out of bed and going into the bathroom I had joined to my room. One of the few highlights of moving here. I stripped my night clothes off and climbed into the shower, turning the hot water on, letting it wash over me until I had woken up fully. When I knew I couldn't avoid the outside world for much longer, I turned the water off and wrapped a towel around myself. Padding out into my room, I went over to my dresser, pulling out black skinny jeans, and a longsleeved black tanktop that fit my form nicely along with the correct underwear. I quickly dressed before pulling on my black combat boots.  
I shook my head to clear it before I exited my bedroom and house - grabbing my black hoody as I walked out the door -, instead going to explore the forest around the town.  
I looked around at the trees as I walked, feeling a little better as I was surrounded by the calm of nature. It was weird, but I felt safe in the deep confines of the woods where I could be alone with my thoughts, free of the problems that would be waiting for me at home. Well, I guess I only felt safe in the woods during the day anyways. Since what happened.  
I smiled as I came to a small clearing and I found a spot to lay down and look up at the overcast sky above me.  
When I opened my eyes, I realized it was dark and that I'd fallen asleep. I looked around as I stood, my heart jumping as I heard the sound of crackling leaves somewhere ahead of me. After I got over my shock, I turned and ran the opposite direction, being as quiet as I could.  
I froze as I heard voices ahead of me.  
"I don't care. She already gave me what I want." A smooth male voice said. I stayed as still as I could as I listened. I couldn't go back the way I came. Who knew what had made that sound I heard before.  
"Are you going to say "eternal life"? You really that stupid?" Another male voice asked, this one a tiny bitter deeper, but not by much. I crept forward, glad for the even soil beneath my boots, a little confused on the 'eternal life' thing. I peered around a tree to see two guys talking in front of what looked to be ruins of a tomb of some sort. The one who had just spoken had blonde/brownish hair and pale skin. He was wearing a black jacket, black jeans, and brown converse.  
"You know, I've heard about you." The first speaker said, taking a step towards the other one. The one who was speaking had dark brown hair and tan skin. He was wearing blue jeans, black sneakers, and a light brown jacket. "You don't feed. You're not strong enough to beat me." I frowned. Feed? That was strange. My breath caught in my throat in horror as the one who had spoken was suddenly on the ground. He had rushed the other one, but he moved so fast I could barely keep up. He was on the ground because the other one had thrown his arm out to toss him to the ground. I watched as the one with the dark brown hair got up and looked at the other guy.  
"Is that all you got?" He asked, smugly.  
"No." The blonde one said. "I got this."  
I gasped softly as the blonde one ignited a torch and set the other guy on fire. I clamped a hand over my mouth so I wouldn't scream and draw attention to myself. Meanwhile, the guy who had been set on fire screamed, flailing around to try and put the fire out before he fell to the ground. Dead. I felt a weird numb feeling spread through me before I walked quietly around the blonde guy, being sure not to be in his line of sight and walked down into the tomb, trying to get away from him and whoever or whatever had been in the trees.  
As I walked down into the tomb, I came upon two women in the tomb already. They didn't seem to be chained or anything. They both had dark skin, brown curly hair, and brown eyes. They seemed related. The eldest would probably be the girl's grandmother or mother, I thought absently. They stared at me in shock as I stood there. Were they with the murderer up there? I wondered, taking a step back as I debated whether or not to chance the forest. There was more room to run.  
I spun around as said murderer came down. He stared at me in shock for a moment. I backed away from him, quickly running for the only opening available. The opening that led further into the tomb. As I ran, the sound of whispers surrounded me and as I got distracted I tripped over a stone on the ground, landing beside something that felt strangely like a person. I gasped as the beam of a flashlight fell onto the..things face, revealing it to be a grey, ghastly looking person. That had light blue eyes that were surrounded by the color blood red. I screamed slightly as I jerked back.  
"You must have a taste for it." A girl's voice said from behind me. I spun to look at her. She had dark eyes and brownish/black curly hair. Her clothing were a sort of punkish/slash girly look. "You scream and shriek and even bother to escape, but then you just come right back to it."  
I hurried to my feet, backing away from the girl as she shined her flashlight on me. I gasped as I bumped into another ghastly person.  
The girl in front of me knelt beside the mummified person, caressing her arm. "Mother! Mother."  
Mother? I thought, looking closer at the mummy person. She wasn't dead, but how was that possible?  
"Your boyfriend did this, you know." The girl said.  
I looked back to her. "What?" I questioned, not sure what she was talking about, but when she looked up she was looking past me. I turned to see another girl. She had long, straight brown hair, and a tan skin color.  
She stared at me in surprise before she turned to the other girl. "His father did."  
The other girl stood and faced the brown haired girl. "And Jonathan Gilbert. I made a choice a long time ago that it would be Gilbert blood that brought her back. I had Jeremy all ready to go, but..."  
I looked to the other girl who gasped and turned, bolting from the room. I tried to follow her, but the other girl was suddenly in front of me. But, I'm not a Gilbert. This doesn't make sense. She grabbed me by the wrist and pulled it to her mouth, biting down. I cried out as I felt fire shoot through my arm. I gasped as the girl pushed me down across her mother's lap and held my wrist to her mouth. I tried to pull away, but her mother began drinking my blood. I frowned as a few tears escaped. What was going on? This was jsut a dream, I lied to myself. I almost begged them to let me go, but I knew it wouldn't do any good and I didn't want to give them the satisfaction.  
"I'm gonna get you out." The girl said to her mother.  
I jerked as the voice of the blonde guy sounded. "Let her go!"  
Wait, that didn't make sense, I thought as I continued to struggle. Why would he be helping me? Weren't they in this together? The murderer grabbed the girl and shoved her away from me.  
"No!" She cried. I flinched as the murderer grabbed me and pulled me to my feet, pushing me towards the exit. I frowned, confused as I looked back at him.  
"Go." He told me. I turned and ran the direction he pointed me since I had nowhere else to go. I was soon out of the tomb adn I looked around. The first two girls were still here and so was the one who was already in the tomb.  
I looked back as the two relatives looked to the tomb entrance as well. The murderer was standing there in the doorway. The girl who I had seen in the tomb walked up to him, her expression, worried. Were they all in on this? I thought in horror.  
"Stefan, what are you doing?" She asked him.  
"It's gonna be okay. We'll fix it." The younger of the relatives said to the worried girl.  
"What is it?" The worried girl asked.  
"I can't." Stefan said. I frowned. What did that mean? He just had to step out of the tomb.  
"Can't? Can't what?" The girl in front of him asked.  
"The spell's still up. We can't get them out yet." The younger relative said. Spell? I wondered. Was she talking like witches and stuff?  
"You went in there not knowing if you could come back out?" The worried girl asked of Stefan. I looked at them in confusion and fear. None of this made sense. Stefan looked down. "Oh my god."  
"I heard you scream." He said. She didn't scream, I thought. Not once, that I could hear. And if he had gone in knowing he couldn't come out then why did he help me?  
"We can't leave him in there. We promised him. Both of us." The girl said to Stefan. I looked at her, even more confused. Who else was in there?  
"I know." Stefan said.  
"Even if we're able to break through the seal, we won't be able to hold it for long." The elder of the two relatives who I assumed thought they were witches said.  
Stefan turned and went back to find whoever else was in there.  
After Stefan left the two witches began chanting as the other girl circled around them. I jumped as the torches flared up and the girl looked to the tomb. "I think it's working."  
I glanced over at the two women who were still chanting and wondered if they might possible be the real thing. It seemed right...and frightening. It made me consider if Stefan and that other guy were like the two witches. And if witches were real then what else was out there that people didn't know about?  
I looked over to the entrance of the tomb as the girl who had bit my wrist exited with her mother. She looked at us for a moment before speaking. "I just wanted my mother back. Jeremy's fine. He's outside. I won't touch him."  
With that mother and daughter left, but the girl wasn't moving as fast as she had before when I tried to flee from her. Maybe it was a trick of my eyes, I thought. I dismissed the thoughts as the torches flared up again.  
"Bonnie, keep going!" The elder witch said to the younger before turning to the other girl with us. "They better hurry."  
I looked to the other girl. I debated whether or not I should question her, but decided it could wait till later if I ever actually decided I wanted the answers.  
The girl went to the entrance of the tomb and called out. "Stefan, they can't hold it much longer!"  
My breath caught for a moment as my eyes closed of there own accord and I suddenly felt myself being drawn towards the tomb and I felt a desire to help these people. I opened my eyes and saw the torches extinguish themselves. Bonnie and the other witch looked faint. I started forward as the girl I had yet to hear the name of ran back into the tomb. Looking to the witches for a moment, I turned and followed the other girl into the tomb.  
"How could she not be in here?" I heard a melodic male voice say in anguish and confusion up ahead. I frowned at the familiarity of the voice, but continued forwards as I listened to the conversation ahead.  
"It's not worth spending all of eternity down here. She's not worth it!" Stefan said, urgently.  
Who? I wondered. And what was all the talk about eternity for? Then it dawned on me. What had eternal life, drank blood, and was super fast? The first thing that came to mind was vampire, but I quickly shook it from my head. Not until I had actual proof would I question them about it.  
"No!" The other voice said angrily and as I rann ahead of the other girl I saw the owner of the voice push Stefan. He had light, light blue eyes like the color of a still pond on a summer day, dark black hair that was cut short and was spiky and yet smooth at the same time, and pale skin. He was wearing a black button up shirt with a black leather jacket over it and black jeans. He was the one who was always in my dreams, but how?  
"Damon!" The girl said forcefully as she came up behind me. "Please."  
Damon looked at her for a moment before his expression became a mix of calm and angry and he walked past me with Stefan and I followed the three of the strangers out of the tomb, a strange pain in my chest as I realized that he was being strong for the girl in the lead. I frowned in confusion at the ache. It didn't make sense and yet at the same time it did. I shook my head and tried to forget about it.  
As we exited the tomb I saw the girl turn and embrace Stefan as he exited. So Damon cared for her, but she didn't return the feelings. And Stefan must be the boyfriend the other girl was talking about earlier. As I left the tomb the door closed behind me and the torches died out. I hurried to exit the enclosed space before the others could really take notice of me. Upon exiting the ruins, I saw a boy about my age lying on the ground. Was this Jeremy? I wondered. I went over and knelt beside him, checking him over as much as I could. He was waking up, I realized as he groaned.  
"He's okay." The voice of Stefan said from behind me. I whirled around to see the girl and Stefan. They both came over and knelt beside who I assumed was Jeremy. The girl looked at me for a moment before she focused her attention on the boy. Stefan looked to the girl. "He's alright."  
I stood and walked away from the three people, but stopped when I saw Damon exit the tomb, looking completely miserable. I felt the urge to walk over and comfort him though I didn't know what he would need comforting for. The urge grew until I was about to walk over to him and do exactly what I felt like doing, but the girl got up and walked over to him, wrapping her arm around him and laying her head on his shoulder.  
"I'm sorry." She said.  
I looked away with a soft sigh as I felt the urge dissipate. What was wrong with me?  
"Who are you?" Stefan said and I looked over. He was looking at me.  
"Does it matter?" I asked, my voice coming out in a whisper as fear flooded me. "You're just going to kill me anyways, aren't you?"  
"What?" Stefan questioned. "Why would I kill you?"  
I looked at him in silence for a moment as his girlfriend and Damon looked over at us. "You killed the other guy. I saw it all. Isn't that why you followed me into the tomb? You knew I was a witness?"  
Stefan shook his head. "I had to kill him. He would've killed a lot of other people if I hadn't. And just because you saw that it doesn't mean I'm going to kill you."  
"But she can't remember either, Stefan." She looked at Damon. "It'll only put her in danger. Damon, would you mind?"  
He looked at her for a moment before he was suddenly in front of me though he'd been like ten feet away. He'd closed the gap in half a second. I gasped in shock. He grabbed the sides of my face and turned my head up so I was looking at him. I looked into the depths of his insanely blue eyes as I waited to see what he would do. Part of me didn't care what he might do. All it cared about was that he was touching my face. And then I remembered that the girl had asked him to do something and that was why he was doing what he was.  
Damon stared directly into my eyes adn I watched as his pupils grew before he spoke in soft compelling tones. "You're going to go home and you're going to go to sleep and when you wake up you won't remember what happened here tonight. You won't remember anything about us." With that he let me go and waited.  
I stared at him in confusion. "What do you mean I'm going to forget what happened? How could I forget this?"  
He looked at me with shock as did Stefan and the other girl. The girl stuttered for a moment before speaking. "Why didn't it work? Anna's mother was able to drink her blood without any problems. So it can't be because of vervain."  
So the other girl was named Anna, I noted absently as I looked around at them. "I think I'm just going to go." My voice was little more than a whisper.  
"The only other thing I've heard of being able to resist compulsion is if she's a vampire." Stefan said before he turned to me. "You don't have to hide from us, you know, and you don't have to act clueless. We're vampires just like you and we won't hurt you unless you give us reason to."  
I stared at him in fear before I managed to choke out a single word. "Vampires?"  
I had thought it earlier, but having it confirmed for me was a complete other thing. I backed away as I began to panic. I thought I was over seeing this kind of thing, but the monsters were back now.  
"Wait, you mean you aren't a vampire?" The nameless girl asked me. I slowly shook my head at her before I turned and ran. Surprisingly, none of them followed me. I ran all the way home and hurried inside, shutting and locking the door before running up to my room, closing and locking my window before I crawled under the covers and let the tears finally fall. I guess it made sense now in a weird, twisted, horrible way. The guy that Stefan had killed must have been another vampire with how fast he was able to move. So was the girl, Anna. And her mother woud have to be. But what about the witches and the girl who I hadn't heard the name of? Was she a vampire also? And why did Anna call me a Gilbert? The other girl must have run because she's a Gilbert, but then that would mean she wasn't a vampire wouldn't it? If she were running from the other girl. I sighed as I forced my body to relax and tried to block off my feelings as I lay there. That's when Damon flit across my mind. Why did I feel so strongly for someone I just met? And why did he seem so familiar? I shivered a bit as my eyes slipped closed and I began to dream.  
The dream was like the ones I hadn't had in such a long time. They had him in them. The one who was always waiting for me. I was in a large auditorium, I realized as I looked around for the one I longed to see again. I smiled when I spotted him. He had his back to me. He was wearing all black clothes. His black hair was thick and smooth and yet spiky and thin. I ran over to him, but when I was just about to reach him, he turned around and I realized it was Damon. And he was smiling a wide smile so I could see the small fangs he now had. His eyes were like Anna's mother's had been. I slid to a stop and he suddenly pounced on me. I screamed in fear as I felt my heart race and my blood speed through my veins, centering on the vein in my neck. Where a vampire would bite.


	2. Chapter 2

I jolted awake, covered in sweat. I looked around in fear for a moment as the events from the night before flooded through my mind. I was never going to settle myself if I didn't talk to someone and get some answers, I thought as I climbed out of bed and grabbed black jeans and a long sleeved dark blue top that buttoned up. As I walked to my bathroom I slipped out of my shoes and clothes that I had slept in. When I got into the bathroom I turned the water on and quickly climbed in, planning to soak as I had the other day, but then I got an urge to see Damon and I wound up rushing through it. Quickly getting dressed after I climbed out, I tried to force this strange feeling to go away before I turned off the water and went out to my room, putting white sneakers on and brushing my hair, letting it hang straight. I huffed in frustration as the feeling just grew instead of going away. What was wrong with me? I wondered again. I brushed some hair out of my face and noticed that I the bitemark from the night before had now stopped bleeding. I ran my fingers over it before letting my arms drop to my side as I shook my head clear.  
After taking a deep breath I turned and headed out of the house, going straight to the librbary. Looking around, I headed for the librarian's desk.  
"Excuse me?" I said softly to the receptionist upon entering the school. "I was wondering if there was a Stefan here in town? He's blonde, about 5 " 4."  
"Oh, yes. He actually recently moved here. Stefan Salvatore." She answered, smiling at me.  
Stefan Salvatore? Interesting last name. I leaned forwards towards the receptionist. "Is there anyway you could tell me where he might be right now? And what you know about him? I know it sounds weird, but it's for a school project. I'm supposed to do a report on someone I don't know and see how much information I can gather from the people they know or are friends with. I thought I should start here. Extra credit since I just moved here."  
"Oh, well. He hasn't come in here before, but I do know that he lives with his older brother in the boarding house near the outside of town." She said, grabbing a piece of paper and writing directions on it.  
I tilted my head to the side. "His brother?" I questioned, pitching my voice so it sounded mildly interested, but not overly. Though I was anxious to get some answers now that it was pretty clear to me that I would be bothered until I did.  
"You'll see when you get there." She said. "And if his brother isn't there, you might want to check at the Mystic Grill. You could probably get a lot more information about Stefan there than you would here."  
I smiled kindly at her as she handed me the paper with the directions on it before I left, heading for the boarding house. I found myself rushing to get there and was surprised when I did. The house was a large mansion type house, but it looked even bigger than the average mansion. It was a dark red color with some grey and it had two driveways leading to the door. I walked up to it and raised my hand to knock, but then just tried to open the door. I needed answers and I was probably more likely to get the ones I needed if Stefan wasn't expecting me. I was slightly surprised when teh door swung open without any problem.  
Walking in I looked around before going in search of Stefan or his brother. If he had an older brother than the brother would most definitely know something, I figured as I came to an open door at the top of the staircase. I walked in being as quiet as I could as I looked around. I was in a bedroom that was obviously used, judging by the stuff around. It didn't look like a guest room. I spun around in a circle as I looked around. I sighed in defeat and was about to call out when the voice of the girl who had been in the tomb sounded out. "Stefan."  
I hurried and hid in the nearby closet.  
"Better. Me." Damon's voice said from somewhere behind where I had been a moment before. I watched as the girl walked into the room, looking him over.  
The urge to see Damon faded as I laid eyes on him. His expression was calm as he looked at the girl from the night before and I quickly noticed that Damon wasn't wearing a shirt.  
I looked at him as I tried to calm my suddenly racing heart.  
"You look, um..." The girl from the tomb said.  
"Dashing? Gorgeous? Irresistible?" He questioned, walking closer to her.  
"You look wrecked." She finished.  
"No reason why. Did you know that I am one of Mystic Falls' most eligible bachelors?" He inquired.  
"Huh." She said quietly, looking around the room.  
"Yep." Damon said nonchalantly, picking up a shirt.  
"How are you doing?" She queried, her tone sincere and I felt a bit of jealousy rise in me. But I couldn't figure out why I would be jealous or why I was feeling this way about a guy I didn't know and who was maybe a murderer. Or at the very least aiding a murderer.  
"Never better." He said as he pulled the shirt on, turning to look into the mirror. "What can I do for you? I'm a barrel of favors today. It's my newfound purpose - how can I help people?"  
"I'm just meeting Stefan." She said, ignoring his sarcasm. "We're going to the fundraiser."  
Damon struggled to button up his shirt, but was apparently too drunk to do so. He turned around to look at the girl. "Help a guy out, will you? Can't get this."  
She sighed, walking over to him and grabbing his shirt before starting to button it up. "So, I found out who my birth mother is."  
"Eech. Who cares?" Damon inquired and I frowned slightly as I watched. Wonder what his reasoning was. The girl looked at him, hurt. Damon explained. "She left you. She sucks."  
Damon and the girl exchanged glances for a moment before she looked over Damon's shoulder at something and smiled. "Stefan. There you are."  
I felt my body stiffen as she walked out of sight. I assumed she was walking over to Stefan. Now's your chance, I thought. To get some answers. I lifted my arm to push the closet door open and reveal myself, but then chickened out. I looked up to see Damon start to put his jacket on.  
"Uhh. I need a bigger jacket. Wow. You know, an occasional sorority girl might, um, fill you out a little bit." Damon said and it took a moment for his words to sink in. He hurt someone? I thought, a pain starting in my chest as he threw the jacket onto the bed and, from what I could hear, left the room.  
After a moment the girl's voice sounded again. "He's fine."  
"He's Damon." Stefan said. Did that mean this was normal for him? I wondered as I continued to peer out of the closet as I listened.  
"Maybe this heartache will be good for him. It'll remind him he has one, even if it doesn't beat." The girl said, a little humorously.  
"Won't hold my breath." Stefan said. I frowned as I listened. Stefan had absoloutely no hope for Damon. But why did I care either way? It wasn't as if I knew any of them except for what I saw of them last night and what I was now learning from eavesdropping.  
The girl laughed and a moment later she spoke, her voice less cheerful. "I went to see Trudie Peterson." I became more alert upon hearing the name. That was the woman my parents had worked with last, wasn't it? I thought before shaking my head and making a mental note to think about it later as the girl spoke again. "I know. I'm sorry. I didn't plan it."  
"How was it?" Stefan asked her.  
"She has vervain." The girl said. I frowned. What did that have to do with anything? It was just a flower. She mentioned it last night too, I remembered. She said something about me not forgetting when they wanted me to, but she said it couldn't be because of vervain because Anna's mother was able to drink my blood. Maybe vervain was a sort of deterrent for vampires, I thought. "She knows about vampire stuff and it can't be a coincedence." The girl continued.  
"It isn't." Stefan said. "This is Alaric's wife."  
Who was Alaric? I wondered. And how many people knew about this?  
"This is her." The girl murmured. "This is Isobel. He gave this to you?"  
"Everything he knows about vampires, he learned from her." Stefan told her. 'He believes she was killed by one."  
"Oh, my god." The girl said. I frowned as I closed my eyes. I wasn't so sure I wanted to delve deeper into their world, but something was stopping me from pulling away. Damon was stopping me.  
"Listen, Elena, there's a lot about Isobel that Alaric can tell you, but I need you to hold off a little while before you talk to him." Stefan said. So the girl was named Elena then. Elena Gilbert.  
"Why?" Elena inquired.  
"I know that it's a lot to ask of you, but will you do that for me?" Stefan questioned.  
After a moment of silence Elena spoke again. "What about the girl from last night? Did you find anything on her? We can't just let her run around telling people, can we?"  
I opened my eyes as I realized that she was most likely speaking about me.  
"No, we can't, but I don't want to scare her either." Stefan's voice sounded sincere and I almost stepped out, but then Elena spoke again.  
"How do you think she resisted being compelled?" She asked. "Do you think she's a witch? Or maybe she wears vervain? But she seemed surprised when she found out what you are." Elena was silent for a moment. "What if she's a danger to you? Or Jeremy?"  
"Then we'll deal with her, but only if we can't reason with her." Stefan said before the both of them passed the closet and left the room.  
I waited for a little longer in the closet before I slowly walked back out into the room. I sighed and began looking around the room, trying to gather more information when I felt a sudden pain shoot through the wrist Anna had bitten. I gasped and pulled up my sleeve to look at the bitemark. It was a mix of dark purple and dark red with a little bit of yellow mixed in. It looked like it was infected. I let out a quiet cry of pain as the pain grew exponetially and I hurried into the bathroom I saw in the room, no longer concerned with who might hear me. I turned on the cold water and put my wrist under it, the pain decreasing to a dull sting. I let out a relieved sigh and turned the water off, pulling my sleeve back down before heading for the exit. I shook my head as I decided not to snoop and instead just head to the Mystic Grill to maybe get a soda or something.  
I quietly walked down the stairs, heading for the door only too quickly spin so I was behind a wall as I saw Damon and Stefan talking.  
"Did you kill her?" Stefan asked. I peered around the corner. He was holding up a picture of someone. I frowned as I realized I recognized the woman in the picture. My parents used to speak with her often. I couldn't recall her name though and I didn't just want to assume that this was the Isobel Stefan and Elena were talking about.  
"Sorry. Don't know her." Damon said before walking past Stefan and looking back at him. "Hey, are you coming? The Real Housewives of Mystic Falls await."  
I sighed in relief when they both left, closing the front door behind them. I waited for about five minutes before I left the boarding house and headed for home.  
When I got there I bounded up the stairs to my room and went straight into my bathroom, pulling my sleeve up. I grabbed a bandage and some paroxide. Positioning my arm over the sink, I opened the peroxide bottle with one hand before pouring some over the bite, nearly pulling my arm to my chest out of instinct to the fierce pain that flared up as the peroxide touched my wound. I waited till the bubbling stopped and I quickly padded a towel on the mark before wrapping the bandage around it.  
I sighed when I was done and pulled my sleeve down and headed out of the house, grabbing my hoody as I passed the front door. I shrugged it on as I headed for the Mystic Grill. Upon arriving I noticed that Damon was up on the stage speaking. I tore my eyes away from him as I looked around the room, spotting Stefan and Elena.  
"Didn't you, Ric?" Damon was saying and I turned to focus on what he was saying as I went and leaned against the door to the Mystic Grill, pulling my hood up to hide my face. "Yeah, 'cause I-I know your wife did. I had a drink with her once. She was-she was a great girl. I ever tell you that? Cause she was-Delicious. Mmm! Mmm mmm mmmm."  
I looked up at Damon in shock. He was talking about killing someone's wife and he didn't seem to care about it. I frowned and ducked out of the Grill, closing my eyes as the cold air blew against my face. I pushed my hood down and gathered my hair up before dropping it down behind my back, leaning my head back. I sighed and leaned against the wall of the Mystic Grill as I opened my eyes. I looked over as Elena came out and started pacing, not noticing me. Stefan came out a moment later and approached her. She turned to face him.  
"Elena." Stefan said, having not noticed me either.  
"He killed her?" Elena demanded in horror. "Damon was the vampire that killed her?"  
"I don't know what happened." Stefan told her. "Alaric said they never found the body."  
Alaric was the one they were speaking about earlier, I remembered. And they were also speaking about his wife, Isobel. Elena's upset because Damon killed her birth mother who was Alaric's wife. I frowned as a pain started in my chest again. It didn't feel like emotional pain though, but rather physical pain.  
"Oh, my god. Stefan." Elena choked out. I looked at her with a little pang of sympathy.  
"I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you. But I just - I wanted to know more. " Stefan told her.  
"I was feeling sorry for him, hoping this whole Katherine thing would change him. I'm so stupid." Elena said. Katherine? I wondered. Was she the person he was looking for last night? It made sense.  
"He doesn't know about the cnnectin to you." Stefan said to her. "I thought about confronting him, but he's already so on edge."  
"Why are you protecting him?" Elena demanded.  
"Because you're not the only one hoping that he might actually change." Stefan answered. I tilted my head to the side as I watched. Maybe Stefan wasn't so bad after all.  
Elena shook her head slightly as her and Stefan stared at each other. That was when I noticed the man behind Stefan. Elena looked over Stefan's shoulder and back up at him, but did a doubletake as she saw the man. "That man." Stefan turned to look at the man who was watching us. I said us because I was sure he had spotted me as well, his eyes were practically staring straight into mine. Elena continued. "I saw that man outside of Trudie's."  
"Get back inside. Come on." Stefan pushed Elena towards the entrance to the Grill and they both froze when they saw me. "You shouldn't stay out here. It isn't safe." Stefan finally said.  
I looked at them in silence for a moment before speaking. "And you won't hurt me if I come with you?"  
"I promise. You'll be safe." Stefan answered, motioning for me to go inside with them. I looked at him and nodded before walking inside with them following behind me, pulling my hood back up. I looked around as I walked, not really paying attention to where I was walking when I suddenly ran right into Damon.  
"Whoa. Easy there. Buy a ticket like everyone else." He said.  
I stepped back and looked up at Damon, trying to ignore my now racing heart. "Did you enjoy that? Rubbing it in to Alaric Saltzman?" I demanded to Stefan's, Elena's, and Damon's surprise. Even mine.  
"What?" Damon inquired with shock.  
"Just as I was starting to think there was something redeemable about you." Elena cut in.  
Stefan walked up to the three of us. "Elena." He shook his head at her.  
Damon looked between Elena and Stefan. "Am I missing something here?"  
"Did I forget to mention earlier when we were talking about my birth mother? The one that gave me up?" Elena asked angrily.  
"Mm-hm." Damon prodded, confused.  
"Her name was Isobel." Elena spit out. I watched as Damon's face faltered. "Go ahead. Reminisce about how you killed her." Elena rammed into Damon's shoulder as she walked past and Stefan and Damon exchanged glances before Stefan left to follow Elena.  
I looked up at Damon in silence, opening my mouth to lecture him, but then closing it since I really had no idea what the whole story was. I shook my head slightly and turned to walk away from him though it was painful to do so. I went over to the bar and sat down, laying my head down on the counter as my wrist began to sting again and I became dizzy. I closed my eyes as I clenched my hand into a fist to keep myself from crying out.  
I stood up as the pain lessened and made my way outside. I continued to walk as the pain grew again and I clutched my wrist to my chest. I looked up as someone was suddenly in front of me. I backed away a step before looking around at my surroundings. The Mystic Grill was no longer here. I was in the middle of a dark street that was surrounded by trees. I looked back to the guy in front of me, backing up further as my wrist flared with pain again.  
"Hello, sweetheart." He said, walking towards me I couldn't make out his face because of the hood he wore. "You look lost."  
I backed up at a faster rate, but stumbled as a wave of dizziness washed over me. "Stay away from me." I took another step back, but lost my footing and the guy was suddenly behind me, stopping me from falling.  
"You should be more careful." He murmured, his voice a predatory purr. He helped pull me to my feet and I leaned on him for a moment before shoving away from him. He reached out and pulled me back to him. "Where are you going? Don't you want to have some fun?"  
"No." I answered, my voice shaking. "Let go of me."  
The guy wrapped his left arm around my waist and tangled the other one in my hair, yanking my head back before he kissed my throat gently. "And if I don't want to? Why don't you let go? You might enjoy it."  
I frowned as I again tried to pull away, but his grip stayed firm. "No. I don't want...Let me go. Please."  
"Sorry, but no can do." He said before I felt sharp pricks on my neck all of a sudden. I let out a cry of pain as I struggled against him with no luck. Soon, I didn't have the strength to struggle anymore and the world went dark.

When I woke up I was lying on a large bed in a pair of black shorts and a black tank top. My whole body was sore and I was pretty sure I was lying in my own blood. I slowly sat up, supressing a cry as I did so. It was the most painful thing I had ever done in my life. I gasped as I tried to stand, but fell to the ground because my legs were far too weak to hold me up at the moment and I was extremely dizzy from blood loss.  
"And where do you think you are going?" The man's voice said. Images of what had happened during my brief moments of consciousness flitted through my mind. It was as if it were all happening again. His hands were roughly roaming over my body and they were bruising and even pulling up skin. His nails were embedded in my back, tearing furrows down my back. His teeth were buried in my neck and his nails tearing at my arms and legs.  
I gasped and brought my hand to my neck, pulling it away to see it was still bleeding. I looked up at the man who had done this to me along with many other things. He was in a pair of dark blue jeans and nothing else. He had short brown hair and emerald green eyes. "What else could you possibly want from me?" My voice was quiet and shaking. "Haven't you done enough?"  
"You have almost given all that you possibly can to me. You can't give me anymore pleasure except for me draining you of the rest of your blood because if I were to force other pleasures from you then you would die since your body can't take anymore for awhile. And I can't heal you to start over again." He answered, walking over to me and picking me up by putting one arm around my shoulders and the other under my knees, being gentle for once. I assumed it was so he didn't break me since the moment he touched my legs enough pain flared up so that I couldn't supress the screams that bubbled out from my throat. My head fell against his shoulder as I nearly passed out from the pain. My screams died down to whimpers and gasps as I closed my eyes, trying to lift my head from his shoulder, but not having the strength to accomplish the job.  
"Are you going to kill me?" I inquired softly as he gently laid me down on the bed, laying on top of me, but holding himself off with his arms. I winced as his motions caused pain to race through me. Although it was thankfully less then the pain that had shot through me before.  
"Yes." He answered. "I have no further use for you." He reached up with one hand and turned my head to the side and brushed my hair away from my throat so it was bared to him. He bent down and placed a small, gentle kiss right above the spot he had bitten to drink from me. I twitched slightly as even that small touch sent pain flaring through me. The man looked up at me. "I seem to have done quite a job on you, haven't I?"  
I gasped slightly in pain as he ran his hands over my body before lowering his head to my neck again and biting into the bitemark he had made earlier and had bit into a dozen times. As he bit me I let out a quiet and short cry of pain as tears began to fall. As he drank, my eyes began to droop and my breaths shortened.


	3. Chapter 3

I was surprised when I woke up in an unfamilair room, on a soft bed, my entire body aching. Or rather I was surprised to even be alive. I lifted my head slightly to look around, but it soon fell back down since I didn't have any strength. It didn't seem to have been long since I lost consciousness.  
"You're awake." Damon's voice said from behind me. I turned my head carefully to look at him, wincing at the pain it caused.  
I frowned, confused. "How did I get here?"  
Damon walked over to the bed and sat down beside me, the movement of the bed causing me to wince again. "Sorry." He said, his voice soft as he picked up a washcloth from a bowl of water that was sitting on the nightstand. He gently began dabbing at the wound on my neck. "You don't have to worry about that guy anymore. I took care of him."  
I closed my eyes at the slight sting of the washcloth on the wound, but held still. "Thank you."  
Damon's hand paused for a moment before he continued cleaning the wound. "You're welcome." He was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "What's your name?"  
I opened my eyes to look at him, not expecting him to ask me that. "River."  
He nodded. "You were at the tomb. Why?"  
"I just stumbled across it and things went from there." I answered with a soft sigh. "What exactly was going on there anyways?"  
I looked at Damon and was surprised to see that he had anger and pain in his eyes, but it quickly vanished. "Nothing much. I was just trying to get the woman I loved out of a tomb that was sealed by a Bennett witch, but as it turns out she wasn't in there. Don't you just hate when that happens?"  
"It sounds like it would be horrible, but I couldn't really answer because I haven't dealt with that myself." I replied softly, worried about him. I couldn't possibly fathom to myself why I felt so strongly about him. All I knew was that I did. "I'm sorry. For what happened." I murmured after a moment.  
Damon looked at me in silence before his expression became a glare. "Well, don't be. I don't want your pity."  
I jerked away from him sharply in surprise, the movement causing me to gasp in pain as black spots swam in front of my eyes. For a moment I thought I saw concern in Damon's eyes, but it was gone too fast for me to be sure.  
"How come my compulsion didn't work on you?" Damon inquired, his voice dangerous as he leaned closer to me.  
My heart started to race, only this time it was from fear instead of attraction. Images of fangs and torture ran through my mind. I blinked, trying to clear the images from my mind while I tried to remember what Damon had asked me before ice had shot through my veins. Oh, right. He was wondering about the compulsion thing. "I don't know." I murmured, my voice barely more than a whisper. I took a shaky breath as I tried to stifle the fear that was now fighting it's way to the forefront of my mind now that I had registered that it was even there. I turned my head and a wave of dizziness, pain, and fatigue washed through me. My eyelids drifted closed and I quickly forced them open again.  
"You're tired." Damon murmured, no longer sounding angry but rather...concerned? I couldn't be sure. "Go ahead and get some sleep we'll talk more when you wake up." After he was done speaking he picked up the rag again and started cleaning my wounds again, being far gentler then I would've imagined after his anger a moment before. I watched him for a moment before my eyes drifted shut again and I fell asleep.

When I woke up next Damon wasn't next to me anymore, but all of my wounds were bandaged. I frowned as I turned my head to look around and pain shot through me. I wondered how long this was going to last and why I was the one that vampire had chosen. I blinked as I tried to remember if he had said without remembering the specifics of what he had done. Nothing came to mind.  
I sighed softly, preparing myself before I pushed myself into a sitting position. The movement caused pain to splinter through my body and a whimper escaped my lips. I had to get up and find Damon or anyone in particular. I didn't want to be by myself. I nearly passed out as I moved to the edge of the bed and I realized that I was still in the tanktop and shorts that the vampire had put me in. I gingerly stepped off of the bed and stood, nearly falling, but managing to remain on my feet though it wasn't without a good amount of pain shooting through me. I grit my teeth and forced myself to walk over to the door and slip out into the hall where I could hear voices coming from downstairs.  
Doing my best to ignore the pain in my limbs, I slowly walked over to the stairs and quietly made my way down, peering into what was the living room. The girl, Anna was here with her mother. Damon was sitting on the couch, talking with them. I frowned. That didn't make much sense. Weren't the girl and her mother working against Damon and the group he had been with?  
"That's ridiculous." Damon said to the two, his expression disbelieving.  
"I've been in Mystic Falls since the comet, Damon." Anna said, sharply. "I'm up to speed."  
"And so am I." Anna's mother murmured. "And now that you've infiltrated the council, I'll need to know everything they know. Starting with a list of names of all the council members and their families."  
"And everyone you've supplied with vervain." Anna added. I tilted my head to the side. It must be some kind of deterrent to them since they're making this much of a fuss over it.  
"Yes, that will have to stop immedeately." The mother said, her tone very formal.  
"What exactly are you trying to acheive?" Damon questioned, nonchalantly.  
"Mystic Falls is our home, Damon. They took that from us. Our land, our home. It's time we rebuild." Anna's mother answered.  
They didn't seem to be too bad apart from what Anna had done at the tomb, but really she was just doing it out of love from what I could tell though it was a really twisted way of going about it.  
"What, are you crazy? It was 1864. Wake up woman. The world has moved on." Damon told her. 1864? I wondered. That made Damon over one hundred years old.  
"As a reward for your help I'm willing to give you what you want most." The woman said after a moment of silence.  
"I want nothing." Damon said, his voice hard and icy.  
"Katherine." Anna's mother said. Just that one word made my heart ache as I realized that was probably who Damon was looking for in the tomb and who he had spoken of earlier.  
"You wouldn't even know where she was." Damon protested with a scoff. "You've been under the ground for the last century and a half."  
"Katherine and I were best friends long before we came to Mystic Falls, Damon." Anna's mother countered. "I know how she thinks, I know her patterns, I know where to find her."  
"I no longer have any desire to see Katherine ever again. And there's no way in hell I'm gonna play the role of your little minion." Damon snapped, moving to stand up.  
Anna's mother got up and pushed Damon back onto the couch. "I'm not asking for your help, Damon. Finding Katherine was just a mere gesture of kindness. The rest is non negotiable." My hand flew up to cover my mouth as she put her fingers in Damon's eyes and forced him to the floor. I had to supress the urge to run out and try to help him since I knew I would just get myself killed and he could probably handle himself well enough. "I have four hundred years on you, little boy. I'll rip you from limb to limb without even blinking and you know it. I'll be in touch." Anna's mother said before her and her daughter left the house.  
As soon as they were gone I went over to Damon's side, half kneeling and half collapsing next to him. "Are you okay?"  
He groaned as he rubbed his eyes. "What are you doing down here?"  
I sighed and sat back, painfully pulling my knees to my chest in an attempt to warm up since it was suddenly very cold. "I didn't want to be alone and I heard voices down here."  
"Oh." Damon murmured, looking over at me, his eyes healing still. I watched with slight fascination as his eyelids melded back together before my eyes until Damon was back to his old self. "Well, since you're up I'll drive you home."  
I nodded though I wasn't really looking forward to leaving Damon at all. Or being by myself at home since my parents were definitely not going to be there. "Alright."  
Damon stood and held a hand out to me. I accepted his offer, placing my hand in his. As our hands touched, I felt a spark zip through me and as Damon pulled me to my feet, I wondered if he felt it too.  
As I stood, the world spun and I found myself falling as pain and dizziness crashed over me. Damon caught me with a little bit of surprise. He helped pull me straighten up and I leaned my forehead on his shoulder. I felt a small bit of surprise when Damon didn't protest or move his arms from around me, but after remaining in that position for a moment Damon pulled away. He kept his hands near just in case I fell again until I nodded to show him that I would be fine though I didn't know if that were entirely true.  
Damon led me out to the garage where he pulled my white sneakers from the passengers seat and brought them over to me. "You'll probably be wanting these. There isn't any socks, but I figure that since it's a small town it shouldn't make too much of a difference since we'll be at your house in a matter of minutes."  
I nodded and gently lowered myself to a sitting position before taking the shoes from Damon and slipping them on though my legs highly disagreed with this action. My hands shook slightly as I tried to tie the laces, but I eventually got them tied. Once I was done I looked up to see Damon holding his hand out to assisst me again and I gladly took it, expecting the spark that jolted through me at his touch though the intensity of it didn't diminish at all. My heart began to race and I felt as if I knew Damon inside and out in that instant, but then the moment passed and Damon was helping me into the passengers side, shutting the door behind me.  
Once he was in the car and he was pulling out of the driveway, I looked overr at him, curious. "So, vervain is a weakness to vampires?"  
Damon looked over at me for a moment. "Yep. If a human drinks or wears vervain then it stops us from compelling them and if they drink it we can't feed on them because the vervain hurts for us to touch."  
"So it's like the cross in vampire lore?" I summed up with a nod.  
"That's about right, yes." Damon answered, a smirk spreading on his face. "You're a very bright girl. Nobody's ever compared those before."  
I nodded and looked out at the sunny day, a new question arising. "How are you able to walk in the sun?"  
"I have a ring. It protects me as long as I'm wearing it." Damon explained, showing me his left hand which had a large blue ring on it. I examined it for a moment before he placed it back on the steering wheel.  
"So, 1864, huh?" I said to keep my mind from turning to thoughts I would rather not deal with. "That's a long time. A church was burned with civilians around that time, right? During the Battle of Willow Creek?"  
"Someone knows their history." Damon commented as he pulled up in front of my house.  
I frowned as I looked up at it. "How'd you know where I live?"  
"I did my research. I couldn't just have someone running around who could be a potential threat, could I? I mean I couldn't compel you so you might have said something." Damon answered as he turned to face me. "Which reminds me. Why didn't you say anything?"  
"People would've thought I was crazy, just like always." My voice lowered to a whisper on the last words. I didn't actually know why I hadn't told anyone so I had decided to lie to him. Just that small act caused a soft ache in my chest. Why? I wondered, completely confused over this development of mine.  
Damon nodded before he turned to look at my house. "There's no one home."  
I looked in the direction he was looking as well. "There usually isn't." I whispered as dread filled me. I didn't want to be by myself. "My parents work in georgia. They're doctors."  
Damon frowned. "Why don't you live in georgia then? You'd probably be able to see them more often."  
I sighed. "They decided that a small town would be good for me. The first one they found was Mystic Falls so here I am." I shook my head and sighed bitterly. "They would know, being the psychiatrists they are." I looked back over to Damon. "Sorry. I shouldn't complain. Thanks for the ride home."  
Damon nodded. "Least I could do."  
I sighed. That's right, I reminded myself. I'm just a charity case. "Well, bye then." I turned and opened the car door, stepping out of the car as I held onto the door to help keep me on my feet as the pain I was feeling increased again. After I was stable I looked at Damon for a moment before closing the door and turning to walk up my driveway.  
"Bye, River." I heard Damon say before I heard his car speed off.  
I entered my house and went up to my room before grabbing a pair of black skinny jeans, a longsleeved top, and my combat boots. I carefully pulled off the clothes I was currently wearing before slipping into the clothes I had grabbed, wincing at the pain that rippled through my body at the movements.  
I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes as I turned my thoughts onto Damon. Why had he saved me? Wouldn't it have been easier for him to just let me die? He wouldn't have to worry about me telling anyone. And what was with the feelings I had for him after such a short time of seeing him? Why did it make me sad when I wasn't near him?  
I wasn't sure when it happened, but soon my thoughts turned into a dream. My dream started with me being in the room that vampire had taken me too, where he had hurt me. I gasped slightly as I felt a hand trail up my back, ever so gentle as it trailed over the scratch marks on my back. Soon,I began shaking in fear.  
"Turn around and look at me, little girl." The vampire said, his voice soft as if he were speaking to his daughter. I didn't want to look at him, but my body moved on it's own accord and I found myself facing him. He ran his hand up to carress my face before he reached behind me, fisting my hair in his hand and pulling me to him so he could kiss me roughly. I whimpered as I struggled to get out of his grasp.  
"No!" I cried as I managed to push him away. "Please...please don't hurt me again."  
"Aww, but sweetheart." He murmured softly as he pulled me to him again, despite my protests and struggles. "You make it so fun."  
I let out a soft cry as he ripped his nails through the scratches on my back, reopening them and causing them to begin bleeding all over again. I gasped and shoved him away from me, turning away and closing my eyes as I waited for pain of some kind. When it didn't come I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. The vampire was gone and instead Damon was here.  
He was standing beside me, his light blue eyes gazing at me with hunger. I felt my heart speed in fear. Damon walked to stand in front of me, bringing his hands up to cup my face before he lowered his head till his lips were hovering over mine. I felt my lips part slightly as my heart sped up even more half in fear and half in anticipation. But Damon didn't close the distance between us, instead reaching down with one of his hands to take my hand in his, bringing it up to eye-level before lacing our fingers together. I tilted my head back and was slightly satisfied when he followed my movement though he still stayed just an inch away. I wanted to close the distance, but I felt fear rise up in me at the mere thought of doing anything like it. The fear I felt only grew as we stood there and I moved to pull away from him, but Damon dropped the hand that was cupping my face and instead wrapped it around my waist, pulling me up against him.  
"Damon?" I whimpered as my pulse sped even more. "What are you doing?"  
Damon didn't answer me though and I felt him drop my hand before lifting his now free hand to tilt my head to the side. I gasped slightly as he placed a gentle kiss on the skin above my jugular. I brought my hands up to try to push against Damon's chest though it was a half hearted attempt due to the warring emotions inside me. I felt fear at the close proximation, but I also felt want. I wanted him to kiss me.  
After a moment I felt Damon smile against my neck before his fangs pierced my neck and I let out a scream.

When I woke up I was still screaming, though it was muffled by my pillow. My scream died down and I realized that I was covered in a cold sweat. After a moment of lying there, I quickly got out of bed, trying to keep myself from crying. I groaned as the pain returned and just laid back on my bed. It took me a moment to realize I was crying, my body shaking as my tears escalated to sobs and I rolled over to bury my face in my arms. I eventually cried myself to sleep.

Leaning against the fireplace in the living room of mine and Stefan's house I thought about River and how she had been able to resist my compulsion. About how she made me feel. I shook my head and took a sip of the bourbon I had gotten myself after the two vampires from the tomb had attacked Stefan and I. Even though it was an annoyance and a problem that the two of them had come after us, I couldn't get my mind off of the girl. She had seemed to sincerely not know how she was capable of resisting compulsion. And then there was the fact that I felt a bit of a draw to her. I tried to convince myself that it was just because she was pretty and attractive and I had saved her because her ability intrigued me. I shook my head and set my now empty glass down before going up to my room and lying down on my bed.  
If that was so then why did you resist the scent of her blood, Damon? I asked myself. I sighed heavily and pushed the thoughts from my mind as I closed my eyes to go to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

I slowly opened my eyes as I woke from my mercifully dreamless sleep, my cheeks still wet from tears. I groaned softly as I rolled onto my side and looked at the clock on my bedside table. It was almost eight in the morning. I blinked as I realized that I had probably been crying in my sleep and then I remembered why I had been crying in the first place. I gasped as I forced myself to stand up and walk over to my dresser. I pulled out a pair of black jeans and a black loose tank top. I stepped out of my combat boots, nearly falling over as I did so, and pulled off my clothing before slipping on the outfit I had just grabbed. With a sigh I picked up my boots, going over to my bed to sit down before putting them on, pulling my jean legs over them. I just sat there for a moment as I prepared myself for the pain that would happen when I stood up. The pain hadn't lessened but had rather gotten worse. I shook my head, wincing at the pain of the movement before I forced myself to my feet, grabbing my leather hoody as I headed for my bedroom door. My body screamed at me as I hurried down the stairs and out the front door, closing it behind me before I shrugged into my hoody, zipping it and heading down the sidewalk, not really having a destination in mind. I found myself quickening my pace as I walked and thought about the dream I'd had. Damon had hurt me, he'd frightened me, and he'd evoked feelings in me that I had never experienced before. I wasn't sure why I was feeling like this, but I didn't know what to do about it at the moment. Especially since Damon had just lost the woman he loved. He couldn't feel the same way as I did, I thought. I looked around in confusion as I found myself at the high school and realized that it was the middle of the day. How had that happened? I thought before I heard Elena's voice. "Stefan's in the house. Damon's a vampire. He can't get in. We need you. I would go, but..." "But your life is valuable. Yours on the other hand is..." At the sound of Damon's voice I felt my heart skip a beat in fear and want. I felt myself begin to walk towards where I heard their voices coming from as they continued speaking. "Stefan told me about your ring." Elena said as I rounded the corner to see them in Alaric's classroom. None of them noticed me. "What about it?" Alaric asked. I tilted my head to the side in slight confusion. "Let me recap..." Damon said. "You tried to kill me. I defended myself. You died. Then according to my brother, your ring brought you back to life. Am I leaving anything out?" "Yeah. The part where I try and kill you again. Only this time I don't miss." Alaric said I felt anger rise in me at Alaric's words. But I forced myself to remember that his anger with Damon was justified. "Mr. Saltzman. Please." Elena pleaded. "It's Stefan" "I'm sorry, Elena. But it's not my problem." Alaric told her. I blinked, wondering why they had even come to him. "That's a shame. Because the woman in charge of the crowd can help you find your wife." Damon said. "You're lying." Alaric accused. "Am I?" Damon asked. "Why don't you ask her for yourself? Coward. Come on, Elena." I turned so that I was out of sight as Elena and Damon turned to leave. "All right! Wait." Alaric called. "I'll go." I waited a moment before making up my mind and revealing myself to them. "I'll go too." They all looked shocked when they saw me. "What are you doing here?" Elena demanded. "Does it matter at the moment?" I queried as I walked into the classroom. "Why don't we just focus on helping Stefan." "No offense, but what good will you be able to do?" Elena demanded. I shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we'll find out. All I know is that you could probably use all the help you can get." "No." Damon said and I looked over to him. "You aren't going." "Why not?" I questioned a little angrily. "I didn't save your life just so you could try and get yourself killed." Damon snapped. I crossed my arms over my chest though pain rippled through me at the movement. "Besides, you aren't up for it at the moment." Elena frowned and looked between the two of us. "You saved her life?" Her gaze settled on Damon. "Yes. Is that really that hard for you to believe?" Damon questioned. "Yes, actually." Elena countered. "I'm actually not sure if I'm dreaming at the moment." I watched as Alaric pulled out an arsenal of weapons. I walked over and looked at all of the different choices. Damon and Elena soon came over as well. I felt my breath catch in my throat for a moment as Damon stood behind me before walking to stand beside me, his arm brushing mine, sending sparks through me. "Teacher by day, vampire hunter by night." Damon said. "I've you to thank for that." Alaric told him. I shook my head at them. "What are these?" Elena asked, pointing at some dart like things. "Those are tranquilizer darts filled with vervain." Alaric answered. "Just get me in. I'll get Stefan out." Damon told them. "That's your plan?" I demanded, looking to Damon. "You're just going to take them all on by yourself?" "Well, I'll be a little stealthier than that, hopefully." Damon told me. I rolled my eyes and watched as Elena grabbed one of the vervain darts. "Whoa. What are you doing?" Alaric demanded of her. "I'm going with you guys." Elena told them. "No. No. No. No. No way." Damon told her. "You guys need me. I'll get in. You could distract them and I'll get Stefan out." Elena protested. "You'll get yourself killed. You're not going in there." Damon said forcefully. "I'm going." Elena protested again. "So, when you get me in, get out as quickly as you can. I know how to sneak around where they can't hear me. You'll basically just be in the way." Damon ignored Elena and turned to Alaric instead. I frowned. That was rude, but at the same time he was just trying to look out for her. "Damon." I said, trying to keep my voice soft but not angry. "Now, is not the time to be the lone ranger." "Fine. You and Elena can drive the getaway car. You're not going in the house." Damon told us, a little annoyed. "You can't stop me. It's Stefan we're talking about here. You don't understand." Elena said angrily. "Oh, I understand. I understand." Damon said, just as angrily. "He's the reason you live. His love lifts you up where you belong. I get it." "Can you just not joke around for two seconds?" I demanded, getting angry myself. "I can't protect you, guys. I don't know how many vampires are in there." Damon snapped. He clapped his hands together loudly, making me jump before he continued speaking. "That's how long it takes you to get your head ripped off. I have to be able to get in and get out. I can't be distracted with your safety. Or this will end up a bloodbath that none of us walk away from." Damon turned to Elena. "Including Stefan. I know. I get it. I understand. More than you think." I could've sworn his gaze had turned to me when he said those last words but I couldn't be sure. I hated not being sure. "If we're gonna go, let's go." Alaric interuppted. Damon and Alaric left me and Elena in the car and I leaned back in the passenger's seat. "So, what's with you and Damon?" Elena asked me. I turned to look at her, wincing at the pain. "He saved my life. I don't judge people until I get to know them so I guess we're sort of friends." "Is that longing I hear in your voice? As if you want to be more than friends?" Elena questioned. "He's not a good choice. He'll hurt you to get what he wants." "Like I said, Elena." I don't judge people before I get to know them. People always start with a clean slate with me." I sighed and looked around before opening the door. "What are you doing?" Elena asked me. I turned to her. "They're taking too long. Do me a favor and try not to cause too much trouble. Unless you want to stay here." I closed my door after stepping out of the car and headed off through the light drizzle. As soon as I approached the house I broke into a run, running past the door and going down the staircase that I somehow knew led to the cellar. I tried the door, but it was locked. I sighed and busted one of the windowpanes, reaching in and unlocking the door before opening it. A man was standing guard at the end of the hallway. I knelt and pulled out a syringe full of vervain and got ready to attack, but Damon got to him first. I looked at Damon defiantly when he saw me. "Are you insane?" He demanded. "I couldn't let you do it by yourself." I snapped. "I couldn't handle it if you got hurt." I clapped my hands over my mouth as I realized what I had just said. Damon looked like he wanted to say something, but he shook his head. "We don't have time for this. Come on." Damon grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him into the cellar. Damon went to stake the vampire that was pinned into a chair and I reached out a hand to stop him, but Stefan got there first. "Unh! No. No. No. Not him." Stefan protested. "Whatever. Let's get you down." Damon said, dropping the stake and turning to help Stefan. "There's vervain on the ropes." Stefan told him. "River, pull that." Damon told me. I nodded and pulled the rope that was holding him up, making him drop. He groaned as he landed on his feet and I reached out to help hold him up. I gasped a little as Stefan's weight made the pain I was already in grew quite a bit and I black swam across my vision for a moment. "All right, let's go." Damon said. "Clothes on." "Wait." Stefan said as I slung his arm over my shoulder, trying not to cry at the pain. "What?" Damon demanded. "Guys, come on. We have to get out of here." Stefan grabbed one of the stakes in the vampires legs and I looked at him for a moment before I grabbed the other, yanking it out of the vampires leg, nearly passing out at the sharp pain that ran through me. "Come on, we gotta go." Damon said, urgently. "Can you get him in the car?" "Yeah." I said with a nod, not actually sure about what I was saying. Damon looked like he didn't believe me but left it alone. "All right, go." Damon told me. "What about you?" I queried. "You rescue, I'll distract. Go." Damon said. I sighed and helped Stefan out of the cellar. I frowned when I saw Elena coming towards the house. "Elena. Here." I said when she reached Stefan and I. "Let's get him to the car." Stefan groaned as we headed through the woods. "Can you make it?" Elena asked. Stefan groaned some more and jerked a bit. The three of us fell, Elena cutting herself on a rock. I felt my breath cut off for a moment as the pain became unbearable for a moment. After it eased a bit, I forced myself to my feet. "You ok?" Stefan asked her. "Yeah. Come on, keep going. Come on." Elena said as we pulled him to his feet and continued onwards. Soon we arrived at the car. "Come on. It's right over here." We put Stefan in the passenger's side and Elena went around to the driver's side as I opened the back door. "Stefan..." I heard Elena say from inside the car. I gasped as one of the vampires was suddenly beside me, busting Stefan's window and dragging him out of the car. I didn't even have time to react before Stefan was being beat. "This is for Beth-Anne." The vampire said, stabbing Stefan with a branch. "And this is for the tomb." "Stop it!" I cried as I pulled out the vervain dart I had, injecting the vampire with the vervain. "Stefan..."Elena said, sitting next to him and pulling out the branch. "Stefan..Stefan...No, Stefan. Stefan! Stefan!" I watched as Stefan's eyes closed and Elena became frantic. "Stefan please. Stefan! Oh, Stefan, please get up. Get up, Stefan. Get up." I looked over to see the vampire getting up and Elena put her cut palm to Stefan's mouth. "Here." She said. "Elena, please run." Stefan gasped out. I turned to the vampire getting up before kneeling down to pick up the branch that Elena had put on the ground. "No." Elena protested. "Please." Stefan pleaded. "Stefan. My wrist. Here. Take my wrist. You need more blood." Elena told him. "Go, Elena. Run. Run..." Stefan told her. I took a step back as I waited for the vampire to get to his feet. "No. I trust you." Elena told him and Stefan finally took her wrist and drank from it. I shook my head as the vampire got up, grabbing a branch and coming towards us. I looked over at Stefan who was still not strong enough and I quickly walked forward, spinning the branch I held around like one of the swords I had learned to use and taking a fighting stance. The vampire looked at me in disbelief before smiling and he came towards me. I took a deep breath before I stepped forward aiming the branch at the vampire's chest. He quickly grabbed it as I thought he would and he quickly twisted his wrist to pull it from my hands before he threw me over on top of the car. I cried out as I landed on my back, my entire body screaming in pain. A moment later the vampire was on top of me, his hands around my throat, constricting me from breathing. I soon fell into darkness. "River?" I could hear Damon calling me, but I couldn't find the strength to open my eyes or move at all. "River, come on. Wake up." "Is she still breathing?" That was Elena, I registered. A moment later I realized that I was breathing extremely shallowly and I was having trouble getting any air in. "Barely-" I lapsed out of the conversation. When I was able to hear them again. I could feel someone doing compressions on my chest before someone's lips touched mine, breathing air in. "I don't understand." Elena said. "Why didn't your blood work?" "I don't know." Damon said from above me as more compressions hit my chest before someone breathed for me again. After the next set of compressions I was able to gasp in a breath, only to wish I hadn't when sharp pains ran through my chest and throat. The first thing I noticed was that Damon was leaning over me and it had started raining again. "There you go." Damon murmured and I realized that he was the one who was doing CPR. "Can you move?" I waited a moment before pushing myself up so I was now sitting on the forest floor. I looked over at Damon before looking around to see the vampire who had been choking me lying on the ground, dead. I painfully pushed myself up to my feet, gasping at the pain that shot through me. "Careful." Damon told me, reaching out to steady me as I swayed. I leaned against him as I waited for the dizziness to pass before I headed over to the car. "Who wants shotgun?" I asked. My voice came out very soft. "Are you okay?" Elena asked me. I nodded. "Thanks to you guys." I glanced at Damon as I spoke. "You go ahead and take shotgun. Me and Stefan will sit in the back with Alaric." Elena said before her and Stefan came over and slid into the backseat. I nodded before opening the passengers side door and climbing in as Damon went around to the drivers side. Alaric was already getting in the back and soon we were off to the Slavatore place. Stefan and Elena went up to Stefan's room, Alaric went somewhere else, and Damon led me up to his room. "Sit down." He said softly. I walked over to his bed and sat on the side, waiting for him to speak to me. After a moment he turned to me. "Who are you?" I blinked in confusion. "I've already told you who I am. I'm River." "But who are you really? Why do I feel so different around you?" Damon pressed, coming closer, his voice rising a bit. "Why do I have feelings for you? A complete stranger? Why did I feel compelled to save you today or even the other day?" I felt a little bit of relief when I realized that it hadn't just been me. After a moment I spoke, choosing my words carefully. "I'm not sure, but I understand what you're talking about. I've been experiencing the same thing. I was starting to think I was crazy." Damon sat next to me on the bed and seemed to think for a moment before speaking. "How do I know you're not lying to me right now? Especially since I can't compel you." "Trust I suppose." I murmured. "Why would I lie to you? I have no reason to." Damon sighed and turned to look at me. "I guess I should get you home then. Come on." He pushed off of the bed and held his hand out to me. I smiled and accepted it. I felt a jolt of energy flash through me as she took my hand and I felt confident that she wasn't lying to me, but the moment passed and I was back to not knowing if I could or should trust her. Or anyone for that matter. I hoped she was telling the truth and I also hoped that whatever was going on with the two of us would go away soon so that I wasn't swayed from Katherine or Elena. Funny how much control a small girl had over me. I led River out to my car and helped her into the passengers side though I couldn't fathom why I was being so nice to her. I sped over to the driver's side and pulled out, driving faster than normal when I realized that I didn't want to take her home, but rather I wanted to take her somewhere quiet and kiss her. Amongst other things. But I couldn't do that. Not with what that creep had done to her. We were soon in front of River's house and I felt concern that she would be all by herself when I realized that her house was once again empty. I shook my head and looked over at her to see a look of fear on her face that made concern well up in me. A moment later the look disappeared from her face and she smiled at me before opening the car door and stepping out. "Goodnight, River." I told her. "Sleep well." "You too." She murmured before turning and going into her house. I watched her walk away before I forced myself to go back to the boarding house. I headed up to Stefan's room to check on him. Even though I tried to make his life miserable a part of me did care about him. When I walked in I saw that there was a bunch of empty bloodbags on the ground and Stefan was sitting on the floor drinking from another. This was bad, I thought. I eventually climbed out of the shower, pulled on some black yoga pants and a longsleeved pink top to sleep in before climbing into bed. I frowned as I thought about what Damon and I had spoken about. I was relieved and a little bit happy that he felt the same way that I did but at the same time I knew that he still loved Katherine and was in no way ready to move on and I wasn't sure how I would handle being in a relationship after what had happened the night before last. I let out a sigh and closed my eyes as I tried to clear my thoughts of inner conflicts and just go to sleep. Soon, I felt my self drift to sleep only to be plagued by more nightmares. 


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning I woke up to my alarm clock blaring. I groaned and rolled into a sitting position, wincing at the soreness before I turned my alarm clock off and climbed out of bed. I went over to my dresser as I pulled off my night clothes. I grabbed a pair of dark blue jeans, yanking them on before I grabbed a black tanktop, pulling that on before pulling a dark red hoody on. I went over and pulled my white sneakers on before yanking a brush through my hair and grabbing my black shoulder bag. Yay, I thought. First day of school. This should be fun. Not. I sighed and quickly exited my empty and kind of lonely house, heading for the high school. Upon arrival I nearly turned and just went home when I saw all of the people, fear swirling through me in a whirlwind as I realized how often I would have to be in proximity to these people. I took a deep breath and forced myself to continue walking. It felt like it took forever to get to the office, but in reality it only took a few minutes. When the school receptionist saw me he gave me what he seemed to think was a comforting smile, but to me it seemed more like a cat smiling right before it tore into it's meal. "No need to be nervous, sweetheart." He told me and I felt myself pale as images of the vampire who had hurt me flashed through my head and it almost felt like he was right next to me. Hello, sweetheart. You look lost. I shook my head to clear it and saw that the receptionist was holding out my schedule and his face looked a tiny bit concerned. I forced a small smile and took my schedule, quickly turning and exiting the office only to walk into a throng of people. I felt my heart start to race and I pushed through them, quickly finding my locker and putting in the combination that I found schedule. Once I was done putting all of my books into my locker, including my history book since I figured I wouldn't need it I headed to my first class. The hour drug on for forever and I let out a relieved sigh when the bell rang, all of the other students rushing for the door. I slowly stood up and was startled when Elena came in. "Oh. Hey. It's River, right?" Elena asked. I nodded, walking over to her. "I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you. How would you feel about coming to hang out with me at my house?" I nodded. "Sure. It's not like I have anything else to do." "Kay. Here." She pulled out a piece of paper and wrote her address down, handing it to me when she was done. "Thanks." I murmured before nodding to Mr. Slatzman and exiting the classroom. The rest of the day dragged on and by the end I felt like I was near having a panic attack, but I was soon back at my house. I sighed and laid down carefully on my bed. Soon I had fallen asleep and was dreaming. This time Elena was in my dream. I tilted my head when I noticed that we were in the medieval ages and Elena was giving birth. I frowned in confusion. Soon, Elena had given birth to a little girl and I watched as the baby was snatched away. Up until now I hadn't been able to hear anything, but now the sounds seemed overwhelming. "Let me at least hold her once..." Elena said in bulgarian. "...just once..." She pleaded. "...at least once." "Forget it..." The man who was now holding the baby said. He was also speaking bulgarian."...you have disgraced this family!" "Father, please!" Elena pleaded, crying. "No, father!...No! No!" "No, Katerina. It's better for her!" The woman I guessed was Elena's mother said. Wait, Katerina? That didn't make any sense. "It's better for her!" "No, mother, please..." Elena or I guessed it was Katerina for some reason sobbed. "Let her go...Let her go, Katerina!" Her mother told her. "Please, Mama." Elena begged again. I felt my heart break as I saw what was happening. Soon, Elena's mother left and Elena seemed to be in labor again. I watched as she gave birth to another baby girl. She pulled the child into her arms with a relieved and surprised laugh. I gasped as a man who was different than Elena's father walked in, snatching this child from Elena as well before leaning over to stare into Elena's eyes. It was like what Damon had done when he was trying to erase my mind. "You will forget ever having this child, Katerina." The man said in bulgarian. "You only had one and she was taken from you. Do you understand?" "Yes. I understand." Elena answered and after the man left she started crying again. After that I woke up. I climbed out of bed and headed over to Elena's wondering about the strange dream. Soon, I was in front of Elena's house, ringing the doorbell. A blonde woman opened the door and smiled. "You must be River. Come on in." I smiled and walked into the house. "Where's Elena?" "She's up in her room with another friend." The woman said. "Oh, I'm Jenna by the way." "It's nice to meet you." I murmured before turning to the stairs and going up them. "Elena?" "Oh, in here, River." Elena called and I went into the room I had heard her voice come from. Damon was lying on the bed, holding a teddy bear. He was looking at a broken lamp. "What happened right there?" I felt my heart speed a little as Damon spoke and he turned to smile at me and I felt my face flush as I realized he could hear my heart. "Um...nothing." Elena said before turning to me, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Are you okay?" I asked her in concern. "Did something happen?" "I'm worried about Stefan. He say's that everything's okay but he's clearly struggling." She turned to Damon. "How long is it gonna take til he goes back to normal?" "A few days. Give or take." Damon told her. "It's been a few days." She said in exasperation. "Give, then. What's the big deal?" He asked as he stood up and gave her the teddy bear and going over to her dresser. "He's not himself, Damon." Elena protested. I tilted my head to the side as I listened. Damon opened a drawer and looked in it before speaking. "Well, maybe his problem is that he's spent too long not being himself." Damon took a bra from the drawer and Elena quickly took it from him and put it back. "Please, don't make me sorry for asking you." She said as Damon took a picture from her mirror and she tried to take it back. "It is what it is, Elena." Damon said, seriously. "The Stefan you know was "good behaviour Stefan", "reign it in Stefan", "fight against his nature into an annoying excessive level Stefan", but if you think that there is not another part to this then you have not been paying attention." "He's not you, not even close." Elena said, taking back the picture. "Well, he doesn't want to be me. That doesn't mean that deep down he's not." Damon said. I watched as he walked closer to her, staring intently at her before he left. As he walked past me I felt my heart speed even more with fear and nervousness. Damon smirked at me again as he passed. "Thanks for coming, but I think you should go now." Elena said. "A lot of unexpected things have happened. I'm sorry." I nodded. "It's fine. I have to get ready for the founder's ball you some other time." I turned and bounded down the stairs, exiting the house and running back to my house. I went over to my closet, pulling out the dress my mother had picked out. It was black and had long sleeves that hugged my arms. The dress hugged my waist, but fell loosely from there to my knees. It had a sweetheart neckline and lacy on the top half of the dress, but turned silky at the bottom half. I pulled on a pair of black lacey tights that would hide the bruises on my legs under it before putting a pair of black open toed heels. They strapped around my ankles. Once I was done I put a lacy black choker on to hide the slowly healing bitemark. My make-up was simply a little bit of lipgloss and black shadowy eyeshadow. I left my hair down. Once I was done I headed to the Founders Ball. Upon arriving I looked around at all the decorations and decided I was already a little bored. I turned around and spotted Elena and Damon at the bar. I walked over and saw that they were watching Stefan who was dancing with some older woman. I frowned. "Hey, guys." I murmured as I leaned against the bar. "Hey, R-" Damon trailed off as he turned to look at me. "Wow. You look...Nice." I smiled. "Thank you, Damon." "For a sixteen year old." He finished with a smirk before turning back to look at Stefan. I frowned as Elena went to go talk to Jenna. "Okay. Well, I think I'm going to go now. See you, later." "You haven't even had a drink yet." Damon said with a smile as he grabbed my wrist gently. "It's on me." "I don't drink." I told him as he let go of my wrist. "But thanks." Damon frowned but then quickly smirked at me. "Well, then. I guess that means more for me." I nodded and went to wander around for a bit. Later into the night I found myself wandering around outside. It was quieter here, more my style. I sighed and jumped when Stefan was suddenly beside me. "Stefan, don't do that." I looked over at him and he was staring intently at my neck. "Stefan?" He didn't respond, just stepped closer. "Stefan." I repeated as I took a step back, only to bump into a tree. Stefan stepped forward until he was pressed up against me, pinning my arms between us. He reached around my neck, undoing the clasp on my choker before he took it off. I gasped slightly as he leaned closer to me before burying his fangs in my throat. I heard myself scream as pain shot through me and I started struggling even though it was useless. Blood trailed down my neck and chest. "Stefan." I managed to get out through the pain. "Please stop." I let out another cry of pain as Stefan bit deeper before he grabbed a fistful of my hair, pulling me away from the tree and bending me back over his arm as he bit deeper. "Stefan, please." My voice was a whisper and my vision began to get blurry when suddenly Stefan was yanked off of me and someone else caught me. "River?" That was Damon's voice. With effort I turned my head to look at him. "Hey." "Thank you." I managed to get out as my eyes began to slide closed. "Hey, hey. No. Come on. Hold on." Damon said, his voice urgent. A moment later I found myself being lifted into the air and I was moving faster than I'd ever moved before. I soon realized that Damon must be running in the way vampires seemed to be capable of. Soon there were lights and I opened my eyes to see we were in front of the hospital. Damon carried me in and laid me down on one of the beds before he was over in front of the only doctor in the hospital at the moment. He looked her in the eye to compel her. "You're going to save this girl's life. And when you're done you'll forget ever doing it. Do you understand?" "Yes. I understand." She answered before hurrying over to me. "I need your help." Damon came over and waited for instructions. "Put pressure on the wound. I need to get the supplies to help her." Damon nodded as the girl hurried off and he gently pressed on my neck. "Hold on, River. You're going to be okay. I promise. You just have to hold on" I gasped slightly as he pressed down a little harder. I let out a soft sigh as my eyes slid closed and darkness took over. When I opened my eyes next the doctor was pulling an air mask away from my face and Damon was leaning over me, looking worried. The girl moved Damon's hands out of the way and got to work on my neck. Soon it had stopped bleeding and she was bandaging it. "She'll be fine now." She told Damon. "She's just lost a lot of blood and will need to rest for a bit." Damon nodded and the doctor turned and left. Damon turned back to me. "Hey. You okay?" I nodded. "I think so." My voice was shaky as I thought about what Stefan had done. "Come here." Damon murmured before sliding an arm under my legs and the other under my shoulders before he carefully lifted me up. I let my head fall on his shoulder and I looped my arms around his neck as he headed out of the hospital. "Thank you." I whispered to him before I fell asleep on his shoulder. When I woke up Damon was settling me onto my bed before he leaned down so his face was inches from mine. I felt my breath catch in my throat. "Is your heart racing because you're afraid or because you want me to kiss you?" Damon questioned softly. "Both." I answered, looking into his eyes. "Do you want to kiss me?" Damon smiled and leaned down until his lips were hovering right over mine. I closed my eyes as I waited to see what he would do. After a moment of waiting in silence I felt Damon's lips gently touch mine before he pulled away. I opened my eyes to see him staring down at me. "I'm sorry." I murmured as I remembered he probably still wasn't over Katherine. "I shouldn't have let you do that." "Did you not want me to?" Damon asked softly. "I did want you to, but I'm not sure you actually wanted to." I explained as he leaned over me again, his forearms on either side of my head to hold himself off of me. "You just found out that Katherine-" "Shh." He whispered. "I don't care about Katherine anymore. I'm tired of fighting this." He bent down and pressed his lips against mine in another gentle kiss. This one was a bit longer and I found myself returning it. After a moment Damon pulled away again and rolled over so he was laying beside me. "You need to rest." I turned to look at him for a moment before closing my eyes to go to sleep. After a few moments I realized just how tired I really was and I was soon sleeping. 


End file.
